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The audacious getaway of Venezuelan opposition figure María Corina Machado involved a long, “scary” and very wet sea crossing in the pitch black of night, as detailed by the US veteran who says he led the operation.

The Perilous Nighttime Voyage

The rescue organizer, who leads a rescue nonprofit, detailed the mission in a newly published interview. It was perilous. It was terrifying,” said Stern, a US special forces veteran, describing rough and moonless seas that simultaneously offered convenient cover for the flight.

“The ocean was perfect for our purposes, but not water you'd choose to sail on ... the bigger the swells, the more difficult radar detection becomes,” he remarked.

He described meeting Machado out at sea after she left the country, where she had been lying low since August 2024 fearing persecution by the government of President Nicolás Maduro.

A Detailed Extraction

She boarded his boat for a half-day trip to an undisclosed location to catch a plane, as part of planned just four days earlier. “This was in the middle of the night – minimal moonlight, some cloud coverage, very hard to see, boats have no lights. All of us were pretty wet. My team and I were soaked to the gills. She was pretty cold and wet, too. She endured a grueling passage,” Stern noted.

Describing her condition, he commented, “She was very happy. She was very excited. She was very tired,” and noted about twenty-four people were directly involved within his team.

Verification and Concealment

A representative for Machado verified that Stern’s company was behind the operation, which commenced earlier in the week. This account follows earlier stories that Machado wore a wig and a disguise to leave her hideout in a outskirts of the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.

The veteran declined to share specifics about the land operation, citing his organization's ongoing operations in the country.

Financing and US Involvement

He stated publicly the endeavor was funded through “several benefactors” – none of whom were US officials involved. “The US government did not contribute a single penny, to my knowledge,” Stern asserted.

He said, however, that his group did coordinate informally with the US military regarding positioning and plans, largely to avoid being mistakenly fired upon.

Next Steps and Inspiration

The opposition leader stated she had US support to depart Venezuela. She has declared her intention to go back, though it is not clear how or when.

Stern said his group would play no part in that operation, as it worked only on extracting individuals from countries, not in. “That’s for her to determine and for her to decide. But I think she should not go back. Yet she is determined. Maria is truly inspirational,” he said.